Apparatus for making electrical connections



APPARATUS FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS Filed March '7, 1968 G. M.GURLEY Oct. 6, 1970 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 APPARATUS FOR MAKING ELECTRICALCONNECTIONS Filed March '7, 1968 G. M. GURLEY Oct. 6, 1970 7Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 6, 1910 G. M. GURLEY 3,531,846

APPARATUS FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS Filed March 7, 1968 7Sheets-Sheet G. M. GURLEY 3,531,846

APPARATUS FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS Oct. 6, 1970 7 Sheets-Sheet4 Filed March '7, 1968 Oct. 6, 1970 3,531,846

APPARATUSYFOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS 5;. M. GURLEY 7 Sheets-Sheet5 Filed March 7, 1968 APPARATUS FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS FiledMarch '7, 1968 G. M. GURLEY Oct. 6, 1970- 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 APPARATUS FORMAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS Filed March '7, 1968 G. M.GURLEY Oct. 6,1970 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 United States Patent 0 3,531,846 APPARATUS FORMAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS Grey Manning Gurley, Clearwater, Fla.,assignor to AMP Incorporated, Harrisburg, Pa. Filed Mar. 7, 1968, Ser.No. 711,411 Int. Cl. H01r 43/04 U.S. Cl. 29203 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE Tool for making electrical connections has crimping die andcrimping anvil which are movable relatively towards and away from eachother. Crimping die is formed in two sections, each section beingmounted for pivotal motion on an axis extending parallel to thedirection of movement of the die towards and away from the anvil. Thedie sections are normally disposed with their adjacent sides facingobliquely of each other and camming means are provided for swingingthese die sections into alignment during initial portion of theoperating cycle. Wire cutting members are provided on the opposed sidesof the die sections and means are provided for moving these wire cuttingmembers relative to the sides of the die sections during the operatingcycle. In use, wires are laced through the die cavities and past theWire cutters so that the wires are trimmed as the die sections are movedinto alignment. Thereafter, dies are moved towards the anvil and wiresare swung into connectors positioned on the anvil so that the anvilswill be crimped onto the trimmed wire ends.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION When wires extending axially towards eachother are to be electrically connected to each other, it is sometimesdesirable to trim the wire ends immediately prior to forming theelectrical connector. For example, in the telephone industry, it isfrequently necessary to connect the Wires contained in two telephonecables to each other. Splicing operations of this type are carried outwhere a new telephone cable is being installed or where a damagedtelephone cable is being repaired. The ends of the cables will normallybe disposed adjacent to each other so that some slack will be providedin the wires which must be removed at the time the electricalconnections are being made.

One method of splicing the ends of adjacent telephone cables is tosimply select wires which are to be connected to each other, trim thewire ends with a pair of wire cutters, and thereafter connect the wiresby means of a connecting device or by twisting the trimmed endstogether. The method is relatively slow, primarily because of the factthat it entails two separate operations, a trimming operation and asubsequent crimping operation. The conductors in telephone cables or thelike can also be connected by means of a crimping tool incorporatingmeans for trimming the wire ends concomitantly with crimping ofelectrical connector onto the wire ends. U.S. Pat. No. 3,328,871 showsone type of crimping tool having wire trimming means therein which formsa so-called butt splice, that is, a splice connection in which the twowires extend towards, but do not overlap, each other in the finishedcrimped connection. Tools of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.3,328,871 have received wide acceptance in the telephone industiy andare being used to an increasing extent.

The present invention is directed to a tool for trimming the wire endsand substantially simultaneously crimping an electrical connector ontothe trimmed wire ends as generally disclosed in the above-identifiedpatent.

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The present invention, however, is adapted to form a lap-type splicebetween the wires rather than a butt splice as described above. In a lapsplice, the wires extend parallel to, and past, each other in the[finished crimped connection so that a lap splice can quite often bedesigned to be relatively shorter than a butt-type splice.

By way of additional background information, it should be explained thatthe conductors in a telephone cable are usually provided as associatedpairs, commonly referred to as twisted pairs. When the ends of twocables are being spliced, it is necessary to connect the correspondingwires of two pairs in each of the cable ends to each other. In myco-pending application Ser. No. 625,096, filed Mar. 22, 1967, now U.S.Pat. 3,431,621. I disclose and claim an apparatus for making butt-typeelectrical connections between the wires of two separate pairs ofconductors in the ends of two telephone cables. The present invention issimilarly directed to a tool for making lap-type splices among theconductors of two pairs of conductors rather than a single lap-typesplice between two individual conductors extending towards each other.

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an improvedapparatus for trimming wire ends and crimping electrical connectors ontothe trimmed ends. A further object is to provide an improved apparatusfor forming two crimped electrical connections among four wires in asingle operating cycle. A still further object is to provide an improvedapparatus for making lap-type splices between wires by means ofcrimpable electrical connectors. A still further object is to provide anapparatus which is substantially foolproof in that it permits theaccomplishment of high quality crimped connections with a minimum ofoperator training or skill.

These and other objects of the invention are achieved in a preferredembodiment thereof comprising a crimping die means and a crimping anvilmeans which are mounted for rectilinear movement towards and away fromeach other. The die means is formed in two parts, each section beingmounted for rotation on an axis extending parallel to the path of themovement of the die means towards and away from the anvil means so thatthe die sections can be swung relatively outwardly when the dies areremote from the anvil to facilitate positioning of the wires in thedies. Each die section has a wire severing member mounted thereon wnichcooperates with the side of the die against which it is mounted to severa conductor dring movement of the severing member relative to the diesurface.

Wire holding and positioning members are mounted on each side of theanvil means and are adapted to receive the wires which are to beconnected to each other and support these wires while their ends arebeing severed. The wires are positioned in the tool by lacing themthrough the wire holding and positioning members and between one of thesevering members and one side of one of the die sections. The severingmembers are then moved relative to the sides of the die sections to trimthe ends of the wires. The positioning members are then swung abouttheir axes in a manner such that the trimmed wire ends are movedlaterally of their axes and positioned between the sidewalls of anuncrimped connector supported on the anvil means. Thereafter, the diemeans moves relatively towards the anvil means to crimp the connectoronto the wires. In the actual embodiment of the invention disclosedbelow, two crimping dies and two crimping anvils are provided so thattwo electrical connectors can be crimped onto four wires during a singleoperating cycle. However, as will be apparent from the descriptionpresented below, the principles of the invention are equally applicableto the type of tool which is adapted to crimp only a single electricalconnector during each operating cycle.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the head portion of an apparatus inaccordance with the invention showing the positions of the parts at thebeginning of the operation cycle with the die sections in their openedpositions relative to each other;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 showing the diesections in their closed positions relative to each other, the closedpositions being the positions they occupy shortly after the start of anoperating cycle;

FIG. 3 is a side view looking in the direction of the arrow of 3--3 ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but with parts of the head portion ofthe apparatus broken away;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary plan view on an enlarged scale of the headportion of the apparatus with parts broken away and showing thepositions of the parts after trimming of the wire ends;

FIG. 6 is a view taken along the lines 66 of FIG. 5;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are views similar to FIGS. 5 and 6 but showing thepositions of the parts at an intermediate stage of the operating strokeduring which the connectors are crimped;

FIGS. 9 and 10 are views similar to FIGS. 5 and 6 showing the positionsof the parts at the completion of the crimping operation;

FIGS. 11 and 12 are views taken along the lines 11-11 and 12-12 of FIGS.1 and 2 and illustrating the pivotal movement of the die sections at thebeginning of the operating cycle;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of two twisted pairs of conductors and twoelectrical connectors of the type crimped by the disclosed apparatus;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of two pairs of conductors with thecorresponding wires of the pairs connected to each other by crimpedconnections in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 15 is a fragmentary perspective view, with parts broken away in theinterest of clarity, of the lefthand die block of the apparatus of FIG.1 and showing the positions of the parts at the beginning of theoperating cycle;

FIG. 16 is a view similar to FIG. 15 but showing the positions of theparts after the two blocks have been swung into alignment with eachother; and

FIG. 17 is a perspective view, on an enlarged scale, of an uncrimpedconnector.

Referring first to FIGS. 13 and 14, the conductors com monly used in thetelephone industry to carry telephone voice signals are provided aspairs, usually referred to as twisted pairs, as shown at 2 and 4. Thepair 2 comprises wires 6, 8 which are twisted together and the pair 4comprises wires 10, 12 which are similarly twisted together. Conductorsof this type are usually contained in telephone cables which may containup to about 2,700 pairs of conductors or 5,600 individual conductors.

When the end of one telephone cable is to be spliced to the end ofanother cable, or when repairs are being made to a damaged cable, it isnecessary to connect the corresponding wires of the pairs of wires inthe cable ends to each other. Thus, the wire 6 of the pair 2 would beconnected to the wire 10 of the pair 4 and the wire 8 of the pair 2would be connected to the wire 12 of the pair 4.

The disclosed embodiment of the present invention is adapted to crimpelectrical connectors of the type shown at 14 to form connections asindicated in FIG. 14. The connector 14 (FIG. 17) comprises a metallicchannel of suitable conductive material such as brass having a web 16and parallel sidewalls 18. A pair of tongues 20 are struck up from theweb and each tongue is provided with two notches 22. The notches of thetwo tongues are in alignment with each other and are adapted to receiveinsulated conductors which are forced into the notches when thesidewalls of the connector are bent towards each other and downwardly.The edges of the notches penetrate the insulation and make electricalcontact with the wire core during such movement of the wire into thenotches thereby obviating the necessity of stripping insulation from thewire ends. The connector 14 is insulated with suitable tough plasticfilm, such as Mylar (polyethylene terephthalate) which is bonded to theexternal surface of the connector and which extends beyond its ends asshown at 26 and upwardly beyond the edges of the sidewalls as shown at28. Connectors of this type are more fully described and claimed in U.S.Pat. No. 3,320,- 354, to which reference is hereby made. It should benoted, however, that the connector 14 is adapted to form a lap splicebetween two wires in which the wires overlap and extend beside eachother. The connectors shown in the above-identified U.S. Pat. No.3,320,354, on the other hand, are adapted to form butt splices and are,therefore, somewhat longer than the connector 14.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-4, the disclosed form of apparatus 30 inaccordance with the invention is in many respects similar to thecrimping apparatus fully disclosed in the above identified U.S. Pat.3,431,621, to which reference is hereby made. Particularly, theactuating mechanism and the frame members of the disclosed form ofapparatus are generally similar to the apparatus of the above-identifiedapplication and the present invention is directed primarily to the diestructure, the means for trimming the wires at the beginning of thecrimping cycle, and the means for positioning the trimmed wires in theconnectors. Accordingly, the actuating mechanism of the hereindisclosedapparatus will be described only to the extent necessary for anunderstanding of the invention and recourse may be had to theabove-identified co-pending application for further details of thestructural features of the actuating mechanism.

The crimping apparaus 30 comprises a pair of parallel ship by an upperspacer block 36 and by a cam follower housing 38 extending between theside-plates at the lower .end of the tool. The spacer block 36 issecured to the sideplates by fasteners 40 (FIG. 3) and the cam followerhousing 38 is adjustably mounted between the lower ends of thesideplates by fasteners 42 which extend through inclined slots in thesideplates. As explained fully in U.S. Pat. 3,431,621, this featurepermits adjustment of the shut height of the dies, that is, the limit ofmovement of the dies towards the anvils, thereby permitting crimping ofthe electrical connectors with a high degree of precision.

The sideplates 32, 34 straddle a stationary frame structure 44 and moverelatively downwardly, as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2 with respect to thisframe structure during operation. Frame structure 44 has a pair ofraised bosses 45 adjacent to its upper end which are separated by a gap45a through which the wires are laced at the beginning of the operatingcycle. The rearward portion of this stationary frame structure 46contains a cam 48 which engages a cam follower in the housing 38. Thecam 48 is mounted on a shaft 50 which extends above the upper surface ofthe frame structure 44 and has a handle 52 secured thereto. Turning ofthis handle through a complete revolution causes the sideplates and thespacer member 36 to move downwardly and then upwardly as viewed in FIG.1, and, therefore, causes the dies, described below, to move relativelytowards and away from anvils which are integral with the spacer 36. Ablock 54 is integral with the frame part 46 on the underside thereof andhas a laterally extending boss 56 by means of which the frame can bemounted on a suitable work support or stand.

The crimping dies 82, 84 are mounted on die blocks 58, 60 which, inturn, are pivotally mounted on the frame structure 44 in the mannerdescribed below. As shown in FIG. 5, both of these blocks are made intwo sections, the block 58 comprising sections 58a, 59 and the block 60comprising sections 60a, 61. These blocks and the dies 82, 84 areopposed to a pair of anvils 62, 64 which are integral with the spacerblock 36 and which provide spaced-apart connector supporting surfaces tosupport the uncrimped connectors during the operating cycle. Theuncrimped connectors are held on the supporting surfaces of the anvils62, 64 by means of H-shaped holders 63 which are mounted on the anvilsintermediate the ends thereof. Two of the arms 65 of each H-shapedholder extend over the anvil on which it is mounted and secured to theanvil. The remaining two arms extend outwardly from the connectorsupporting surface of the anvil on opposite sides thereof and areadapted to embrace a connector positioned on the anvil. The distancebetween these two arms is such that the connector is resiliently clampedby the arms with sufficient force to hold it agains falling. TheseH-shaped holders are relatively narrow so that they will fit between thetwo sections of the crimping dies and they will not, therefore,interfere with the crimping function of the dies.

Referring now to FIGS. 11 and 12, the die blocks 58, 60 are mounted onpivot pins 66, 68 which extend through these blocks and into thestationary frame portions on each side of the slot 45a. At the beginningof the operating cycle, the blocks 58, are cocked relative to each otherso that their inner sides face obliquely and upwardly as shown in FIGS.1 and 11. During the initial stages of the operating cycle, these blocksare swung about their pivotal axes 66, 68 until they are in alignmentwith each other as shown in FIGS. 2 and 12. This swinging of the blocksfrom the positions of FIG. 11 to the positions of FIG. 12 takes placeearly in the operating cycle and is accomplished by means of cam rollers70, 70'. These cam rollers are mounted on pins 73, 73 supported inbrackets 72, 72' which, in turn, are secured to the sideplates 32, 34.The cam rollers 70, 70 engage cam surfaces 74, 74' on the undersides ofthe blocks 58, 60 so that as the sideplates 32, 34 and the other movablestructure of the apparatus move downwardly as viewed in FIG. 1, theserollers will move over the surfaces 74, 74. The surfaces 74, 74 arecontoured such that the blocks will be swung inwardly during initialmovement of the sideplates.

As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, springs 76, 76 bear against the undersidesof the blocks 58, 60 and normally bias these blocks to the position ofFIG. 11. These springs are overcome and compressed during the initialstages of the cycle and then return the blocks 58, 60 to their normalpositions (FIG. 11) at the end of the operating cycle. Springs 76, 76are received in recesses in an arm 78 which is secured to the undersideof the stationary frame structure 44 by a suitable fastener 80, see FIG.4. The stationary frame section 78 also functions as a camming memberfor positioning the Wires in the uncrimped connectors as will beexplained below.

The inner sections 59, 61 of the die blocks 58, 60 each have arms 79, 81(FIGS. 5, 7, and 8) which project towards and face the anvil surfaces62, 64 when the die blocks are in their closed positions. The end ofthese arms are provided with die cavities as indicated generally at 82and 84. As shown best in FIG. 8, the surfaces of the arms slope towardsthe die cavities as shown at 86 and the sidewalls of the die cavitiesextend parallel to each other as indicated at and are reversely curledand intersect to form a cusp 87. It will be understood that each of thedie cavities 82, 84 are adapted to crimp one of the electricalconnectors indicated at FIG. 8. The central portions of the arms 79, 81projected beyond the die cavities and form a hump 88 which functions toseparate the two wires of each pair positioned in the tool.

Referring to FIGS. 5, 7, and 15, opposed slides 67, 69 of the die blocksections 59, 61 slope divergently from the crimping area and each dieblock has a wire shearing member 90, 90' mounted against its slopingside. Since these two shearing members, and their actuating mechanisms,are identical, a description of one will sufiice for both. The samereference numerals, differentiated by prime marks, will be used toidentify the corresponding structure of the two shearing members andtheir actuating mechanisms in the interest of clarity.

The shearing member 90, which is mounted against the sloping side 67 ofthe die block section 59, is generally arrow shaped with the point ortip of the arrow in alignment with the wire separator section 88 of theend of the block. Notches 96, 98 extend inwardly from the opposite sidesof the head of the arrow and define ears 97, 99 which are locatedimmediately behind these notches (i.e., leftwardly of the notches asviewed in FIG. 6). As best shown in FIG. 8, the material of these earsis not as thick as the main body of the separator 90 to that upwardlyand downwardly extending shoulders or ridges are defined immediatelybehind the notches 96, 98. These shoulders support and guide the wireswhen they are laced in the tool and permit the two die blocks to beswung inwardly and against each other as shown in FIG. 5 until the wirecutters 90, 90' are substantially against each other.

The wire cutter 90 is held in assembled relationship to the blocksection 59 by means of a rivet having a head 100 (FIG. 5) disposed in arecess in the block section 59. The shank portion 102 of this fastenerextends through an elongated slot 104 in the block section 59 whichopens onto the sloping sidewall 67 of the block. The wire cutter 90 issecured to the shank portion 102 of the rivet by the upset end portionof the rivet indicated at 106. This arrangement permits the wire cutter90 to slide relatively over the inclined surface of the block section 59to accomplish its wire cutting function as will be described below. Itshould be mentioned at this point that the die block 58 is formed in twosections 58a, 59 in order to permit forming of the recess in which theenlarged head 100 of the rivet is disposed and to permit machining ofother cavities and recesses in the composite die block 58 which will bedescribed below.

The wire cutter 90 is moved relatively over the side 67 of block section59 from the position of FIG. 1 to the position of FIG. 5 to trim thewires of the wire pair 2. This movement of the wire cutter is effectedby means of a bell crank type control member generally indicated at 108(FIGS. 5 and 15) having one arm 114 which extends through a recess inthe block section 59 and into a slightly oversized opening in thelefthand end of the cutter 90 as viewed in FIG. 5. The other arm 112 ofthis bell crank has a bearing sphere 118 on its end which is received ina vertical slot 122 in the stationary frame sec tion 45. The arms 112,114 have a circular cross-section and may conveniently be formed bybending a piece of common steel rod. The pivot for the bell crankcontrol member comprises an additional short section of steel rod whichis brazed or otherwise secured to the sections 112, 114 at theirjunction. The pivot section 110 is received in a slot 116 in the blocksection 58a, this slot providing sufficient clearance to permit thepivot section 110 to rotate to a limited extent about its own axisduring swinging of the die block 58 from the position of FIG. 1 to theposition of FIG. 5.

At this juncture it should be explained that at the beginning of theoperating cycle, the parts will be in the positions of FIG. 1 with thewire severing members 90, 90 located at the limit of their upward travelrelative to the sides 67, 69 of die block parts 59, 61. When the partsare in this position, the notches 96, 98 in the Wire severing member 90and the corresponding notches of the other wire severing member 90' willbe above (as viewed in FIG. 1) the forming surfaces of the crimping dies82, 84. The two wires of the pair 2 which extends from the left in FIG.1 are separated and the wires are laced through a wire gripping andpositioning device 126 which is described in more detail below. The twowires are then led downwardly as viewed in FIG. 1 and one wire is ledthrough each of the die cavities and through one of the notches 96, 98in the wire severing member 90. The end portions of the wires will thenextend downwardly as viewed in FIG. 1 and through the gap 45a whichseparates the bosses 45.

During the initial portion of the operating cycle, and while thesideplates 32, 34 are being initially moved downwardly, the die block58, 60 are swung inwardly about their pivotal axes 66, 68 by the actionof the cam rollers 70, 72 and the cam surfaces 74, 74 as describedabove. During this swinging of the die blocks into their alignedpositions (FIG. the wire cutter members 90, 90' are moved relativelydownwardly, or rearwardly, over the inclined surfaces 67, 69 of theblocks 59, 61 by the action of the bell crank control members 108, 108.This movement of the cutter members 90, 90" results in the severing ofthe wires in the planes of the inclined sides 67, 69 of the die blockmembers 59, 61, the edges of the notches 96, 98 and the edges of the diecavities 82, 84, functioning as a shearing means for the wires. The wiresevering member 90 is pulled rearwardly by the arm 114 of the bell crank108 which swings in an arcuate path relative to the die block structure58 as illustrated in FIGS. and 16. The swinging of the arm 114 isbrought about by rotation of the pivot member 110 of the bell crank in aclockwise direction-as viewed in FIG. 5. The rotation of the pivotmember, in turn, is brought about by the movement of the spherical ballbearing 118 on the end of the other bell crank arm 112, this ballbearing being lodged in the vertical slot 122 in the stationary framepart 45 so that it can move only vertically while the die block 58 isbeing swung arcuately about its pivotal axis 66. As a result of thisconfined vertical movement of the end of the bell crank arm 112, thepivot section 110 of the bell crank is forced to rotate about its ownaxis within the pivoting die block and the arm 114 is swung in adirection such that the cutting member is withdrawn leftwardly as viewedin FIG. 5. The actuating means for the other wire cutting member 90' is,of course, the same and the two cuttting members are moved downwardlyrelative to their die blocks during the same portion of the operatingcycle.

During the initial stages of the operating cycle, the wires are held andpositioned in the uncrimped connectors supported on the anvil surface62, 64 by a pair of wire gripping and positioning members 126, 126 shownbest in FIGS. 1 and 5-9. These positioning and gripping members aresimilar in many respects to each other. The gripping and positioningmember 126 will be described first and the manner in which thepositioning and gripping member 126 differs from its counterpart 126will be explained subsequently.

The gripping and positioning member 126 is mounted on a support plate128 (FIG. 8) which is slidably received in a recess 130 in the die block58. This gripping and positioning member is thus moved along an arcuatepath towards the center of the tool while die block 58 is swung inwardlyabout its pivotal axis 66. A spindle or shaft 132 extends upwardly fromthe end of the support plate 128 and is inclined rightwardly as viewedin FIG. 8 towards the spacer block 36. A metallic wire separator plate138 is rotatably mounted on the spindle 132 and has a raised portionintermediate its end which functions to separate the wires. A pair offirm plastic plate members 134, 136 are bonded to the ends of theseparator member 138 and have tapered projections 135 extending in thesame direction as the center portion of the separator plate 138 tofurther assist in separating the wire when they are laced in the tool.

A camming finger 140 extends downwardly from the lower end of the wiregripping and positioning member and has an ear 142 on its upper endwhich is bonded to the plate 136 so that these members 142, 134, 138,and 136 will rotate as a unit with respect to the stationary spindle132. A torsion spring 144 surrounds the spindle 132 at its lower end andhas its end locked on the finger 140 so that it normally biases thisfinger and the plates 134, 136, and 138 in a clockwise direction asviewed from above to the position shown in FIG. 1.

The end of the support plate 128 is adapted to be engaged by a cammingrod or bar 146 (FIG. 8) which extends between the sideplates immediatelybeneath the spacer block 36. The arrangement is such that duringdownward movement of the sideplates, as viewed in FIG. 1, the spacerblock 36, and camming plate 146, the plate 146 pushes the support plate128 relatively inwardly with respect to the die block 58. Such inwardmovement of the plate 128 brings the finger 140 against the end'of abracket 78. This bracket 78 is secured to the underside of thestationary frame 44 by a fastener so that the finger 140 is movedrelatively rightwardly by the end of the bracket 78 when the parts movefrom the relative positions of FIG. 8 to the positions of FIGS. 9 and10. This movement of the finger 140 over the edge of the stationarybracket 78 causes the separator plate 138 and the rubber-like clampingmembers 136, 134 to be rotated in a counterclockwise direction about theaxis of the spindle 132 against the biasing force of the torsion spring144.

The operation of the wire gripping and positioning means 126 is asfollows. The wires of the pair 2 are separated and one wire is locatedon each side of the raised center of the separator member 138. The wiresare then pulled downwardly as viewed in FIG. 1 so that these wires willbe gripped between the compressible plates 134, 136 and the sides of themetallic separator member 138. The ends of the wires are led through thenotches 96, 98 in the wire cutter members as described before and asshown in FIG. 1. After the die blocks have been swung inwardly and thecutter member has been moved over the inner surface 67 of the die block58 to the cut wires, the trimmed wire ends will extend obliquely towardsthe sloping side of the die section 59 as is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.Upon further relative movement of the sideplates and the movablestructural parts towards the anvil blocks, the camming finger and theparts 142, 134, 138, 136 are rotated about the axis of the spindle 132.During such rotation of the wire positioning means, the wires willremain gripped between the sides of the plate 138 and the compressiblesides of the plates 134, 136. The wires will thus be moved along anarcuate path laterally of their axes and positioned between thesidewalls of the connectors supported on the anvil supporting surfaces62, 64. The upper wire in FIG. 6 being located between the sidewalls ofthe upper connector and the lower wires are located between thesidewalls of the lower connector. This movement of the wires takes placeduring relative movement of the sideplates towards the dies and prior tobottoming of the dies on the connectors so that the wires will beproperly positioned in the connectors when the crimping operation isfinally carried out.

It will be apparent from FIG. 1 that the axis of the spindle 132 onwhich the lefthand wire positioning and holding means is mounted slopesobliquely upwardly as viewed in FIG. 1 while the axis of the right handspindle 132 slopes obliquely downwardly and leftwardly. It will also beapparent from FIG. 1 that the end of the bracket 78 is stepped at 77 sothat the finger 140 is not in direct alignment with the finger 140'after the die blocks are swung to their closed positions, see FIG. 7.The purpose of these structural features is to permit movement of thewires into the connectors along independent paths in a manner such thatthe wires will not collide with each other and, further, to position thewires in side-by-side relationship in the connectors with one wire beingaligned with one pair of aligned slots in each connector. Referring toFIG. 6, it can be seen that the wires which appear in this figure willbe located in the lower slots of the upper connector and the lower slotsof the lower connector. Since the spindle 132 on which the wirepositioning and locating means 126' is mounted slants in the oppositedirection from the spindle 132, the wires which are led into the toolfrom the right in FIG. 1 will, therefore, be positioned in the upper setof slots in each connector. The step 77 in the bracket 78 provides aslight time interval between the swinging of the two positioning membersso that one pair of wires will be moved ahead of the other pair therebyfurther decreasing the possibility of the wires colliding with eachother during their movement into the uncrimped connectors.

To briefly review the operation of the disclosed embodiment of theinvention, the parts will be in the position of FIG. 1 at the beginningof the operating cycle. The pair of wires 2, which extend from the leftin FIG. 1, are led over the lefthand wire gripping and positioningmember 126 and the two wires of this pair are separated by the separatorplate 138. The upper wire is wedged between the plate 136 and theseparator plate 138 and the lower wire is wedged between the resilientplate 134 and the separator plate 138. The wires of the pair 2 are thenled downwardly as viewed in FIG. 1 through the notches 96, 98 of thewire cutter 90 and through the gap which separates the bosses 45 on theupper end of the stationary frame. The pair 4, which extends from theright in FIG. 1, is similarly positioned in the right hand wirepositioning and separating member, through the notches in the wirecutting member 90' and also between the gap as shown in FIG. 1.Uncrimped connectors are then placed on the supporting surfaces 62, 64of the anvils and are held in position by the connector holding members63. The operator then turns the handle 52 through a complete revolutionto cause the movable structure including the sideplates and the spacingmember 36 on which the anvils are mounted to move relatively towards andaway from the fixed structure including the die. During such initialmovement, the dies are swung inwardly and into alignment with each otherby the action of the cam followers 70, 70 (see FIGS. 11 and 12) and thewire cutting members -90, 90 are moved rearwardly with respect to thedie blocks to sever the wires. After the dies are swung into align mentwith each other, the parts will occupy the positions shown at FIG. andthe trimmed wire ends will extend obliquely from the wire holdingpositioning members 126 towards the dies. The anvils are then movedrelatively towards the dies and the wires are swung laterally until thetrimmed wire ends are positioned in the uncrimped connectors, see FIG.9. During the final stages of the movement of the anvils towards thedies, the uncrimped connectors are moved relatively into the diecavities 82, 84 and the sidewalls of the connectors are bent inwardlyand downwardly with respect to the web portions of the connectorsthereby to crimp the connectors onto the wires. Subsequently, thesideplates and the movable structure of the apparatus are return to thestarting positions and the crimped connections can be removed from theconnector holders. As explained in U.S. Pat. 3,431,621, return of theparts to their starting position after the crimping operation has beencarried out can be brought about by a cam follower mounted on thesideplates 32, 34 in engagement with a second cam mounted on the shaft50' beneath the cam 48. Alternatively, if desired, suitable springs canbe mounted on the movable structure including the sideplates to returnthe parts to their starting positions.

It will be apparent that the disclosed form of apparatus in accordancewith the invention permits the achievement of crimped connectionsbetween the corresponding wires of two pairs of Wires in a singleoperation cycle. The lineman making the connections need only handle thepairs 2, 4 one time during the operating cycle and he deals with theseparate pairs of conductors in the cable ends as pairs rather than asindivdual wires. The lacing of the wires into the apparatus is arelatively simple and straightforward operation and can be carried outin a time interval which is no greater than the time required to lacesin le wires in prior art tools. In these respects, the presentinvention offers the same advantages as are offered by the apparatusdisclosed in my U.S. Pat. 3,431,621, referred to above. An apparatus inaccordance with the present invention differs from the apparatus of U.S.Pat 3,431,621 in that the present invention is adapted to crimp arelatively short connector of the type in which the wires over lap eachother in the crimped connection. In other words, the instant applicationis adapted to form a lap connection between the corresponding wiresrather than a butt connection. Lap type connections are preferred undersome circumstances because they are shorter than butt type connectionsand a completed cable splice between two cable ends with lap typeconnections does not result in as much bulk increase in the cable asdoes a similar splice where butt type connections are employed.

Changes in construction will occu'r to those skilled in the art andvarious apparently difierent modifications and embodiments may be madewithout departing from the scope of the invention. The matter set forthin the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by wayof illustration only.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for trimming the ends of wires and crimping an electricalconnecting device onto the trimmed wire ends comprising:

frame means crimping anvil means on said frame means crimping die means,on said frame means, said die means being divided in two parts along atransversely extending medial plane, said die means being movablerelatively towards and away from said anvil means along a predeterminedpath, said parts of said die means being pivotally mounted on spacedapart axes extending parallel to said path, said parts being rotatablebetween an open position and a closed position when said die means isremote from said anvil means, and being movable relatively towards saidanvil means when said parts are in said closed positions,

said parts having adjacent sides, severing means mounted on, and movablewith respect to, said adjacent sides to sever wires extending past theplanes of said sides, whereby upon positioning each of said wires on oneof said parts and moving said severing means over said adjacent sides,said wires are trimmed in the planes of said sides, and upon relativemovement of said die means towards said anvil, a connecting devicesupported on said anvil is crimped onto said wires.

2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 including means on said frame meansfor supporting said wires on each side of said path.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 including wire supporting andpositioning means on said frame means on each side of said path, eachwire supporting and posi tioning means being adapted to hold one of saidwires during trimming thereof, and to thereafter move said one wirelaterally along said path and position said one wire in a connectorsupported on said anvil.

4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said anvil means is adaptedto support two connecting devices and said die means is adapted to crimpsaid two connecting devices simultaneously, whereby said apparatus isadapted to form two electrical connections between four wires.

5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein each of said severing meanscomprises a severing member mounted against its associated adjacent sideof one of said die parts, each of said severing members being movablepast an adjacent edge of its respective die part to sever one of saidwires.

6. Apparatus for trimming the ends of pairs of wires extending axiallytowards each other and crimping an open 1 1 U-type electrical connectoronto the trimmed ends, said apparatus comprising: crimping die means andcrimping anvil means means for moving said die means and anvil meansrelatively towards and away from each other, slot means extendingtransversely through said die means intermediate the ends thereof,

severing means mounted on said die means, said severing means beingmovable through said slot means and cooperable With the sides of saidslot means to cut a wire,

wire holding and swinging means beside said anvil means for swingingsaid wire ends about an axis extending transversely of the path ofmovement of said die means towards said anvil means whereby, aftersevering of said wires, the trimmed wire ends are positioned in anuncrimped connector supported on said anvil means and said connector isthereafter crimped onto said wires.

7. An apparatus for trimming the ends of Wires and crimping anelectrical connecting device onto the trimmed wire ends comprising:

a crimping die and a crimping anvil,

means for moving said die and anvil relatively towards and away fromeach other along a predetermined path,

means cooperable with said die for trimming said wires during initialmovement of said die relatively towards said anvil,

a pair of Wire positioning members disposed on each side of said anvil,

each of said wire positioning members having means for holding one ofsaid wires at a location adjacent to its end, each of said wirepositioning members being rotatable about an axis extending transverselyof said path thereby to swing said wires arcuately towards said anviland position said wires in an uncrimped terminal supported on saidanvil.

7/1967 Over. 3/ 1969 Gurley et al.

THOMAS H. EAGER, Primary Examiner

